Ialtris dorsalis (Hispaniolan W-headed Racer). Distribution

2013·0.21 MB·English

by  Stesha A Pasachnik

caribbean herpetology note
Ialtris dorsalis (Hispaniolan W-headed ty, PO Box GY, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA; and Jeffery P.
Corneil, Biology Department, Truman State University, 3036
Racer). Distribution.
Magruder Hall, Kirksville, MO 63501, USA.
Date of observation: 15 July 2013. Location: Dominican Re- Citation: Pasachnik et al. 2013. Ialtris dorsalis (Hispan-
public, Pedernales, 13.5 km N of Pedernales. Coordinates: iolan W-headed Racer). Distribution. Caribbean Herpetol-
18.15542, -71.75797. Elevation: 773 m. Voucher: image. This ogy 41:1.
is a new locality for a rarely seen species of snake endemic to
Hispaniola, filling in a distributional gap. Large racer snakes
like this species have nearly disappeared from the island,
apparently because of predation by the invasive mongoose,
which is also diurnal and ground-dwelling (Powell R, Otten-
walder JA, Inchaustegui SJ, Henderson RW, Glor RE, 2000, Am-
phibians and reptiles of the Dominican Republic: species of
special concern, Oryx, 34, 118-128).
Stesha A. Pasachnik, Institute for Conservation Research,
San Diego Zoo Global, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escon-
dido, CA 92027, USA, [email protected]; Rosanna Car- Photograph by JP Corneil
reras De León, Biological Sciences, Mississippi State Universi-
Published online 28 August 2013
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Caribbean Herpetology 41:1 ISSN 2333-2468 www.caribbeanherpetology.org